Public urged to ‘Get Ahead of the Games’
A national campaign has been launched today to encourage the public to plan their travel during London 2012
The Government, Mayor of London, Olympic organisers and transport networks have joined forces to help those who live and work in affected areas in London and across the UK.
The Get Ahead of the Games campaign will use advertising, a website and a dedicated Twitter channel to keep the public informed about travel ‘hotspots’ and encourage them to avoid these areas during the busiest times.
Work has already taken place over the past year with businesses to ensure they have travel plans in place to keep running and make the most of the benefits of the Games, including an estimated £750 million of income from visitors to the capital.
The campaign follows the completion of £6.5 billion of transport investment last summer, a year ahead of the Games.
Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said: “London’s transport improvements are complete and ready for London 2012 and we are confident that we will cope with the increased demand at Games time. However, with a little forward planning and preparation, people can minimise the risk of disruption to their journeys.”
Seb Coe, chair of LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Games), said: “The scale of the Games is unprecedented - across both Games there will be 14,000 athletes, 7,000 technical officials, more than 20,000 media and 11 million spectators. Our plans reflect this scale. The Olympic Route Network is a mass transit system which allows us to manage Games traffic and get those involved where they need to be and the campaign we’re talking about today will give people all the information they need to plan their journeys this summer.”
Distinctive signage which will be used to direct spectators around transport networks and from transport hubs to venues during London 2012 was also unveiled for the first time today.